Best woman I ever knew, even if I am biased. Social worker, big hearted, wildly liberal Christian, protector of strays both animal and human, mom to the entire neighborhood, obsessed with politics, photography and loving me rotten. Responsible for most of my positive qualities, and my big laugh. I wish I could show her the Burn.

Miss her all the time, but I'm strong enough not to be undone by it anymore, and that's her fault, too.

*** 2013 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

Best woman I ever knew, even if I am biased. Social worker, big hearted, wildly liberal Christian, protector of strays both animal and human, mom to the entire neighborhood, obsessed with politics, photography and loving me rotten. Responsible for most of my positive qualities, and my big laugh. I wish I could show her the Burn.

Miss her all the time, but I'm strong enough not to be undone by it anymore, and that's her fault, too.

(((Savannah))) what a wonderful mom! the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! xo <3

Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious.

Tod, someone I know casually from working clubs over the years, jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge on NYE. Him & his boyfriend just got a brand new puppy for Christmas, he had a good job & always had a smile on his face, and, while like all of us he had his demons, no-one saw this coming. He was very good friends with some of the people I'm closest to, this has left a huge, painful hole in the heart of my circle.

This morning he was a missing person, tonight he is gone. Watch your friends who seem to be hiding pain, and reach out to them.

Eric wrote:Tod, someone I know casually from working clubs over the years, jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge on NYE. Him & his boyfriend just got a brand new puppy for Christmas, he had a good job & always had a smile on his face, and, while like all of us he had his demons, no-one saw this coming. He was very good friends with some of the people I'm closest to, this has left a huge, painful hole in the heart of my circle.

This morning he was a missing person, tonight he is gone. Watch your friends who seem to be hiding pain, and reach out to them.

I'm sad for my friends who are dealing with this, and for his boyfriend, who has to go through this and live with the loss. I knew him casually, and I'm upset, I can't imagine what they're going through. It's the easy way out for the person in pain, while being the most devastating way out for everyone you leave behind. Ugh.

Eric wrote: Tired of suicides, tired of it being the #1 killer of gay youth.

I thought suicide was the #1 killer of all youth, gay or otherwise. Could be mistaken I suppose.

It's a high killer of all youth, but due to stigma & discrimination gay youth are1 1/2 - 3 times more likely to try to kill themselves. Having been a gay youth in the 70s & early 80s, I can tell you how hard it was growing up gay, and I came close to suicide myself at 17.

It's highly unlikely that in rural America you'll get beaten up for holding the hand of someone of the opposite gender (unless it's interracial). You're almost guaranteed to at least cause a scene & have to deal with regular insults at school/ work/ from family if it's the same gender. You have to listen to "gay" being used constantly as a pejorative, you have to listen to politicians & pundits, preachers, your family, your friends, all talk about it being "wrong", or "sick", or "disgusting", "unnatural"...

I don't know what drove Tod to suicide, I'm not sure anyone does. I've just know of too many people choosing that way...

Thread is going off track, time to return it to remembering those who passed...

I couldn't agree with you more Eric... On the gay youth issue and suicide in general. While there have been strides made over the last 10 years there is still so much stigma. I love my gay/queer circle off playa although I actually have more gay friends than lesbian friends, but I was pleasantly surprised in how much of my camp was queer (maybe it's still around the 10% mark, but I don't interact with all 125 so it feels like more).

If a friend starts pulling away, becoming reclusive or suddenly changes in spirit or attitude it's likely a good time to reach out to them. Whether there may be a major issue or not is of low importance.

Illuminate. Navigate. Celebrate.What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

A true gentleman,and one of the best to ever play the game.Rest in peaceStan the Man

Never asked for a raise, volunteered to join the military, (which we see very little of any more in organized sports) and most comendable, Married to the same woman for 70+ years.

My cats are cuter than your grandkids!"We in Arizona (and the rest of the United States) have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act.""Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem."

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lavonne ''Pepper'' Paire-Davis, a star of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s and an inspiration for the central character in the movie ''A League of Their Own,'' has died, her son said Sunday.

Paire-Davis died of natural causes in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on Saturday, her son, William Davis, told The Associated Press. She was 88.

current moonBurning Man is an exercise—indeed, a challenge—in balancing cooperation, self-reliance, individual expression, and creative collaboration in the formation of an artistic community. E. Britannica

Mymains Stewart Gilligan: aka Stewie, forever 8 years old.ln August 2010 his owner was given a letter from Guinness Book of Records as the worlds longest domestic cat at 48.5 inches. ln late 2011 he added the record for the longest domestic cat tail. My wife and l got to see and pet him at a cat show in Reno in the summer of 2011. Christmas Day of 2011 he was diagnosed with lyphosarcoma. He was a certified therapy cat. RIP in cat heaven Stewie. Pleasure to have been able meet you.

My cats are cuter than your grandkids!"We in Arizona (and the rest of the United States) have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act.""Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem."

Wow, I didn't know any of them were still alive.Good stuff, actually. Makes me wonder what they'd be like if they were alive and young today... Obviously the idioms would be different, but talent and hard work cross all sorts of bridges?

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri